Festool’s lung health challenge

Festool, supplier of high-end power tools and accessories, has launched a Cycle Challenge to raise money for the British Lung Foundation (BLF) and to promote lung health to UK tradespeople.

The Cycle Challenge will feature two static Wattbikes that will join Festool’s UK roadshow on its European leg in July. Members of the trade will have the chance to win £500 of Festool prizes if they bike the fastest mile, three miles or five miles.

Featuring Festool’s premium range of tools, the fully equipped truck will also provide visitors the opportunity to receive information, get hands-on with the tools and learn from a team of experts. With approximately 200 sq m of space, visitors will find new products for 2017, as well as Festool’s complete range of dust extractors that help safeguard a dust-free work environment.

The company has been selling top quality cycling tops as a fundraising initiative on its eBay page, and will be raising thousands of pounds for the BLF as part of the Breathe Easy with Festool Dust Extraction campaign.

The truck tour will begin in Portsmouth on 5th July and will call at Twickenham, Sittingbourne, Leyton, St Albans, High Wycombe, Nuneaton, Derby, North Shields, Glasgow, Dunfermline, Blackburn, Warrington, Belfast and Dublin.

Dr Penny Woods, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “We are so grateful to Festool and to everyone using pedal-power in their Cycle Challenge, raising money to help us fight lung disease. This generous support will allow us to continue investing in research into new treatments and cures, and provide support to help people affected by lung disease, throughout the UK.”

Exposure to wood dust, a known carcinogen, can also increase the risk of lung cancer. Alongside heart disease and non-respiratory cancer, lung disease is one of the UK’s three biggest killers. The British Lung Foundation’s Battle for Breath study found that more than 43,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. Around 12 million people, one in five of the UK population, have been diagnosed with lung disease. Respiratory disease costs the UK £11 billion each year.

Festool offers a range of dust extractors which are suitable for any job from low to high class dust, including general work to anything that is a known carcinogen including lead, cadmium and asbestos.